Printer&#39;s composing-stick.



No. 808,715. PA'I'ENTED JAN. 2, 1906. P. M. BARKER.

PRINTBRS COMPOSING STICK.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 19. 1904.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

FRANK M. BARKER, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR TO HARRY B. ROUSE, OFCHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

PRlNTERS COMPOSlNG-STICK.

Specification of Letters Patent.

:atented Jan. 2, 1906.

To aZZ w/wm, it may concern.-

Be it known that I, FRANK M. BARKER, a citizen of the United States,residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, haveinvented a certain new and useful Improvement in PrintersComposing-Sticks, of which the following is a full, clear, concise, andexact description, reference being had to the accompanying drawings,forming a part of this specification.

My invention relates to printers composing-sticks, and has for itsobject the provision of an improved construction of such sticks, wherebythe knees may be approximately set in place by the hand and mostaccurately adjusted in position from this approximate adjustment by theoperation of the attachment thatI provide upon the stick.

The invention has for another object the provision of interlocking meansbetween the knee and the rear margin of the stick, which interlockingmeans when released will permit the type by expansion to move the kneesufliciently to permit the release of the type. To this end I haveprovided a construction wherein the knee is provided with a cam element,preferably fixed with respect to a clamp, that cooperates with acorresponding element up on the rear wall of the composingstick, whichcam elements are so relatively proportioned and sha ed that when engagedwith each other a slight forward motion is imparted to the knee and whenreleased a slight rearward motion is permitted by the before describedaction of the type. The base-plate of the stick is provided with theusual scale-marks denoting picas. Other scale-marks may be provided, ifdesired. These scale-marks are so disposed with respect to the camelement provided upon the rear wall of the composing-stick that when thetransverse limb of the knee is placed just to the rear of one of thescale-marks the movement of the cam upon the knee will effect exactregistration between the knee and the selected scale-mark.

the composing-stick that cooperates with the cam upon the knee isdesirably in the form of a plurality of saw-teeth whose forward edgesincline downwardly toward the front wall of the stick, so as to permitof the desired move ment of the knee with respect to the stick that hasbeen described. The cam upon the knee obviously may reside in one ormore teeth, preferably shaped to correspond with the teeth upon thestick. A plurality of teeth for the cam is preferably provided to reducewear.

To facilitate adjustment and to secure thorough interlocking engagementbetween the cam elements, the structural part of my invention thatcarries the movable cam also is referably a clamp that exerts aninterlocking engagement or frictional engagement between the knee andthe stick that supplements the interlocking, engagement between theaforesaid cams.

As the cam upon the knee is preferably provided with a spring anchorage,I preferably provide a catch for holding the clamp, cam, or toothedelement upon the knee in looking engagement with the correspondingelement upon the stick. This catch is adapted to be released by theuser, whereupon the spring anchorage due to its resiliency effectsdisengagement between the clamp, cam, or toothed element from thecorresponding element upon the stick. The catch employed is preferably aspring-catch, serving in its normal position to lock the parts together.

I do not in all embodiments of the invention wish to be limited to thespring-catch nor to the spring anchorage that has been specified.

I will explain my invention more fully by reference to the accompanyingdrawings, in which Figure 1 is a perspective view of the entirestructure, showing the knee locked in position. Fig. 2 is a sideelevation of the structure shown in Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a view similar toFig. 2, showing the cam or toothed elements disengaged. Fig. 4 is across-sectional view on line a a of Fig. 1. Fig, 5 is a detail viewshowing the catch.

Like parts are indicated by similar characters of reference throughoutthe difierent figures.

.The composing-stick comprises the baseplate 1, rovided with an end wall2 and a back wa l 3.

IOE

A slight groove 4 extends longitudinally of the stick into which aflange 5, carried by the knee 6, fits, so as to prevent the knee frombeing lifted from the baseplate, this flange being provided upon thelongitudinal branch of said knee. The type is set longitudinally of thestick between the end Wall 2 and the transverse branch 7 of the knee.The element 8 is preferably a U- shaped clamp that straddles thelongitudinal branch of the knee and the back wall of the stick, so as toprevent the knee from rocking, whereby the branch 7 may be maintainedalways at right angles to the back wall. The element 8, preferably,isformed out of a single stamping and has a rearward extension 9, that isof spring metal and which is preferably riveted to the knee near itsrear end, the fiexure of the spring extension being such that when theelement 8 is relieved of the action of the catch, to be specified, itwill assume an inclined position. The element 8 is a cam or toothedelement, which preferably has a plurality of teeth 10 formed along thelower edge of the outer wall of said element to engage withcorresponding teeth 11, carried upon the outside surface of the backwall 3. The rear edges of the teeth 10 cooperate with the front edges ofthe teeth 1]., so that when the branch 7 of the knee is placed in anapproximately correct position it will be brought to the exact positionby the center ing cam like or registering action of the teeth 10 inbeing depressed into engagement with the teeth 11. The clamp does notnecessarily need to have decided pinching action, its main function inthe organization herein disclosed .being to prevent the branch 7 of theknee from being shifted from its position at right angles to the backwall. It will be seen that the rear edge or edges of the tooth or teeth10 are inclined upwardly away from the end wall 2 while the cooperatingfront edges of the teeth 11 areinclined downwardly toward the end wall2. The remaining edges of the engaging teeth serve to reduce wear bytheir engagement, though I do not wish to be limited to the engagementof these remaining edges of the teeth.

An inspection of the drawings will show with what nicety the knee ismoved forward when the teeth are brought into engagement and how readilya slight rearward movement of the knee may be effected by the expandingtype when the teeth are disengaged. It will be seen that the knee may berepeatedly reset after each time the stick is relieved of the typewithout moving the knee, except as it is moved by the clamp 8 whendepressed into engagement with the teeth 11. I preferably provide somesort of a catch, as the springcatch 12, for holding the clamp 8 in a depressed position, for which purpose the clamp 8 is provided with a lug13, that may be integrally formed therewith and which interlocks withthe catch 12 when the clamp 8 is depressed by the thumb and which isfreed from interlocking engagement when the catch 12 moved away from thelug 13 by the thumb.

It is obvious that changes may be made without departing from the spiritof my invention, and I do not, therefore, wish to be limited to theprecise construction shown; but,

Having thus described my invention, I claim as new and desire to secureby Letters Patent- 1. A composing-stick including a knee carrying atooth and a back wall provided with teeth, the rear edge of the toothcarried by the knee sloping upwardly and rearwardly away from the endwall of the stick while the front edges of the teeth upon the back wallslope downwardly toward the end wall of the stick, substantially asdescribed.

2. A composing-stick including a knee carrying a tooth and a back wallprovided with teeth, the rear edge of the tooth carried by the kneesloping upwardly and rearwardly away from the end wall of the stickwhile the front edges of the teeth upon the back wall slope downwardlytoward the end wall of the stick, the remaining edge of the tooth uponthe knee being adapted for engagement with any of the remaining edges ofthe teeth upon the back wall, substantially as described.

3. A composing-stick including a knee car rying a tooth movably mountedwith respect to the knee and a back wall provided with teeth, the rearedge of the tooth carried by the knee sloping upwardly and rearwardlyaway from the end wall of the stick while the front edges of the teethupon the back wall slope downwardly toward the end wall of the stick,substantially as described.

4. A composing-stick including a knee carrying a tooth movably mountedwith respect to the knee and a back wall provided with teeth, the rearedge of the tooth carried by the knee sloping upwardly and rearwardlyaway from the end wall of the stick while the front edges of the teethupon the back wall LOO slope downwardly toward the end wall of thestick, the remaining edge of the tooth upon the knee being adapted forengagement with any of the remaining edges of the teeth upon the backwall, substantially as described.

5. A composing-stick including a knee carr in a tooth havin s rinanchora e u on.

. b b b sloping upwardly and rearwardly away from the end wall of thestick while the front edges of the teeth upon the back Wall slopedownwardly toward the end wall of the stick, the remaining edge of thetooth upon the knee being adapted for engagement with any of theremaining edges of the teeth upon the back wall, substantially asdescribed.

7. A com osing-stick including a knee carrying a toot movably mountedwith respect to the knee and a back wall provided with teeth, the rearedge of the tooth carried by the knee sloping upwardly and rearwardlyaway from the end wall of the stick while the front edges of the teethupon-the back wall slope downwardly toward the end wall of the stick,and locking mechanism for maintaining engagement between the teeth,substantially as described.

8. A com osing-stick including a knee carrying a toot movably mountedwith respect to the knee and a back wall provided with teeth, the rearedge of the tooth carried by the knee sloping upwardly and rearwardlyaway from the end wall of the stick while the front edges of the teethupon the back wall slope downwardly toward the end wall of the stick,the remaining edge of the tooth upon the knee being adapted forengagement with any of the remaining edges of the teeth upon the backwall, and locking mechanism for maintaining engagement between saidtooth and any of said teeth, substantially as described.

9. A composing-stick including a kneecarrying a tooth having s ringanchorage upon the knee and a back wa lprovided with teeth, the rearedge of the tooth carried by the knee sloping upwardly and rearwardlyaway from the end wall of the stick while the front edges of the teethupon the'back wall slope downwardly toward the end wall of the stick,and locking mechanism for maintaining engagement between the teeth,substantially as described.

10. A com osing-stick including aknee carrying a toot having s ringanchorage upon the knee and a back wa 1 provided with teeth, the rearedge of the tooth carried by the knee sloping upwardly and rearwardlyaway from the end wall of the stick while the front edges of the teethupon the back wall slope downwardly toward the end wall of the stick,the remaining edge of the tooth upon the knee being adapted forengagement with any of the remaining edges of the teeth upon the backwall, and locking mechanism for maintaining engagement between theteeth, substantially as described.

11. A composing-stick including a clamp carried by and movable withrespect to the knee and provided with a cam formation fixed with respectto the clamp, and a cooperating cam provided upon the back wall of thestick with which the aforesaid cam formation may engage, substantiallyas described.

12. A composing-stick including a clamp carried by and movable withrespect tothe knee and provided with a toothed formation fixed withrespect to the clam and cooperating teeth provided upon the ack wall ofthe stick with which the aforesaid toothed formation may engage,substantially as described.

In witness wherof I hereunto subscribe my name this 16th day of July, A.D. 1904.

FRANK M. BARKER.

Witnesses:

G. L. ORAGG, T. F. MODERMOTT.

